Supporters of the 47-year-old bar near Union Square hoped the designation would help save the business from being evicted by the building’s owners, the Handlery family. But they still had reason to hope. Supervisor Christina Olague said she planned to introduce legislation that would override the agency, whose members said the bar had cultural significance but did not meet criteria for historic landmark designation.

But by Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the supervisor had changed her mind. She told the board she’d “respect the process” and stay out of the fight.

“There is the possibility that the public will be appealing this decision, but at the same time there’s also a lot of legal things occurring that, I feel at this time, I’ll just let that take its course,” she said.

The day after the Historic Preservation Commission’s ruling, attorneys for the Handlery family filed a lawsuit against Jim and Tasios Bovis, who run the bar, accusing them of intentionally breaching their contract. The Bovises, in turn, are suing their landlords, saying they were intimidated into signing their contract.

The battle over the watering hole started in December, when the Handlery family, who wants to put an Express store in the Gold Dust’s space, exercised a clause in its lease and gave the Bovises three months to clear out. The Bovises are still there.

Lee Houskeeper, a spokesman for the Bovises, said supporters of the bar plan to appeal the Historic Preservation Commission’s decision to the Board of Supervisors within a month.

“There will be a day in court and the validity of our claim, this was an illegal eviction, will be decided by a judge,” Houskeeper said.